The Books of Magic
by Snowy Mountain
Summary: Sakura embarks on a journey to learn the true nature of Magic guided by a Goddess, a Demon, an Immortal Dark Sorcerer, and the Guardian of the Future. Hopefully, she’ll survive the experience. MEGACROSSOVERS! Based on Vertigo’s “The Books of Magic".
1. Sakura's Dream

**Disclaimer:** Sakura Kinomoto_ belongs to _CLAMP_, _Xellos_ is the property of _Hajime Kanzaka_, _Kazushi Hagiware_ retains _Dark Schneider_, _Sailor Pluto_ is by _Naoko Takeuchi_, and _Kosuke Fujishima_ owns _Urd_ …. although I wish I did._

_Based on _Vertigo's "Books of Magic".

**Updated 7/24/2009: **A few changes here and there, I got rid of the Hooded Figure references and rewrote some of the scenes to make it fit in more with Xellos' character. I thought it was a bit confusing to introduce this mysterious Hooded Guy and then suddenly replace him with Xellos. I also combined a few of the chapters together so it works better.

* * *

_Horror and Humor, Wonder and Awe: The Knowledge of Hidden Things… A Spellbinding Tale. An Enchanting Experience. An Unforgettable Journey._

_**Magic.**_

—Neil Gaiman, _"The Books of Magic",_ 1990

* * *

**The Books of Magic**

Chapter 1:

_**Sakura's Dream**_

* * *

Sakura Kinomoto dreamed.

Of late, her dreams had been rather unusual ones. Or rather tended to be prophetic ones that heralded fundamental changes or preceding encounters with beings who would greatly alter the course of her life. It was a gift of clairvoyance that had apparently been awakened with her magic.

Of course these dreams tended to be rather enigmatic at best. And hardly at all useful.

She found herself standing in what appeared to be a dimly lit room. There were four people sitting around the low table in the center of the room and they were the strangest quartet that Sakura had ever seen.

Two were women while the other two were male.

"I don't want to have anything to do with it," one of the men snarled. He took a deep drag of his cigarette and blew out a swirl of smoke. "Why should I?" he demanded petulantly. He was tall and powerfully built and appeared as rugged and primitive as they came. He was dressed in what had once might have been fine clothing but they were in tatters and threadbare now. And he even seemed to revel in his primal appearance, wearing them as proudly as a king in his finest and most majestic robes. Golden eyes narrowed into slits as he glared at the others around the table and tossed a long lock of his shaggy silver hair over his shoulder. He reminded Sakura of those pictures of barbarian warriors.

The other man leaned forward and set his elbows on the table. He wore an old fashioned and well worn overlapping tunic with an even older looking travelling cloak. His hair was cut in a rather unusual fashion, short in front while longish on the sides and back and was colored a dark purple. A strange staff topped with a huge red ruby rested beside him. He interlaced his gloved fingers together and spoke intently, "This child possesses tremendous power and potential Schneider. Power that could change the world. But in order for that potential to be fully realized it must be carefully guided and shaped and channeled."

"So? What am I? The brat's father? She's not MY responsibility Xellos!" the silver haired man called Schneider retorted, "Besides, if she's so damn powerful, then she doesn't need us for help."

"She is dangerous."

Sakura turned to gaze upon the woman who had spoken for the first time in a cold tone of voice. She was exotic looking yet was also dressed perhaps the most normally of the four. Her clothing was elegantly modern. The expensive silk blouse and slacks and jacket simply emphasized her feminine figure. Her skin was tanned and her hair was long and tinted a dark green. She was beautifully and coldly aloof.

At first glance, Sakura would have guessed that she was in her early twenties. Except that when she looked closer did Sakura suspect that she was far older than her appearance would have suggested. Despite the lack of any lines or wrinkles, the firmness and shapely form of her body, when Sakura looked at this woman, she sensed an immense weight of age hanging on this woman. It was her brilliant red eyes. They looked old. Ancient. Especially now when they were narrowed and flinty. "She is a threat to the future. We should kill her now. While we have the chance," the woman said firmly.

Sakura felt something cold form in the pit of her stomach. This woman was casually discussing murder as if she was ordering take out.

There was a sharp bang as other woman slammed a large glass bottle of sake that she had been swigging as though it was water. "No killing Pluto. Not now. Not ever," she growled as she glared at the green haired woman who gazed back with a look as though daring the other woman to try and stop her.

Although this woman was almost as darkly tanned as the other, her hair was pure white. This color was not from age however as far as Sakura could tell. She looked roughly the same age as the other woman but they were definitely cut from a different cloth.

Her clothing was a bizarre cross between a modern dress and priestess robes … although no priestess would have the skirt cut so indecently high. She thought that Tomoyo might like the outfit though. Also she wore several necklaces and was adorned with multiple bracelets around her wrists and a few around her ankles including some earrings and rings.

She was also lounging about, sprawled casually on the floor while the woman in the modern clothes sat straight up and proper, holding herself tautly.

Sakura thought the facial tattoos were a bit odd though. It was also strange but her eyes refused to focus directly on the tattoos, whenever she tried to stare at them, her gaze seemed to slide off them. Even more bizarrely, the tattoos appeared to glow softly, radiating their own internal light. And … Sakura cocked her head as she looked directly at the white haired woman. It seemed … off somehow.

When she tried looking at the woman from different angles, things about her seemed to change. At one angle, there was a woman floating above her with wings, one dark and the other white and cold flames wreathed her. Sakura blinked and her appearance shifted again. This time, she was radiating some sort of brilliant light. Blink. Another change. The woman sitting sprawled looked more … Greek? She held some really ancient sewing instrument … a distaff if Sakura remembered correctly in one hand. Blink. The woman appeared almost normal this time. Except that she had a pair of wings herself now. One appeared to be feathered like a bird's and another looked like a bat's. Confused, Sakura turned away.

"She is potentially the most powerful adept the world has ever seen. More powerful than Merlin, more potent than Clow Reed even," Xellos continued his discussion with the others.

_Clow? _

Sakura tentatively stepped closer to Xellos, her curiosity peaked by the mention of the creator of the Clow Cards.

"She could remake the entire world if she chose to and bring back magic to this plane," Xellos pressed in a grave tone of voice and his ever presently closed eyelids rose fractionally to reveal his pupils momentarily to glance around at his three companions, "That is something important. To all of us."

His eyelids closed as he turned to face Schneider who had finished his cigarette and had fished another one from his robes. Schneider almost casually snapped his fingers and a small flicker of flame ignited from the tip of his index finger to light the cigarette. He grimaced. "Yeah, OK. That is important," he admitted grudgingly against his will.

"Yes. Because you are a magician. And all magicians have a responsibility to magic itself. To see that it is used correctly. Wisely. And even more so, to promote it," Xellos said waggling an accusing finger towards the sulking man.

"I SAID I'D DO IT DAMMIT!" Schneider roared, his eyes flashing with lightning and a howl of wind whipping his silver hair around.

Ignoring his companion's tantrum, Xellos instead beamed and clapped his hands together as his personality did a total 180, transforming from a serious mien to a cheerful grin. "Wonderful! I knew I could count on you!" he said brightly as Schneider growled back. Blatantly turning his back onto his annoyed companion, Xellos turned to the white haired woman. "Urd?"

The tattooed woman who had been swallowing another shot of sake put the bottle down and straightened her spine, giving him a regal nod, "Agreed. I shall show her what has gone before."

Xellos bobbed his head and raised an inquiring eyebrow at remaining member of the quartet. "Pluto?"

The green haired woman sniffed. "I seem to have no choice do I?" she said eyeing the three arrayed before her. "If I must," she grumbled, "then I will take her to the end."

Xellos nodded and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Well, I suppose that leaves me to give her the grand tour in the here and now," Xellos said with a nod before he turned to Schneider and cocked his head.

"And I'll show the brat the other lands. Whoopee. I'm a damn babysitter slash tour guide," Schneider groused as he stuck a finger up his nose and rooted around.

Pluto wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Please stop that."

Schneider removed his extended finger and with a leering grin, exchanged it with his middle one.

Pluto's eyes narrowed. "Uncouth barbarian," she sneered.

"And proud of it baby," Schneider retorted with an extended tongue.

Sakura felt more and more uncomfortable listening to this conversation. She—suddenly Xellos turned to stare directly at her and his eyes opened—she froze as she saw a pair of glowing orbs. _His eyes! His eyes are—!_ She never got a chance to finish that thought as a vague smirk appeared on his face and—"I think that's enough eavesdropping Ms. Kinomoto," he said gently. "It's time to wake up now."

And then she woke up.

* * *

"AAAAHHH!" Sakura bolted upright, flinging her blankets upwards.

It had the effect of throwing a small stuffed animal into the air with a startled squawk of surprise. Or rather, what appeared to be a small stuffed animal. "What's wrong?" the small plushie demanded urgently in a high pitched voice as the wings mounted of its back fluttered madly as he hovered in midair.

Sakura looked up at what most magicians and witches would have called her familiar. She would have argued that he was familiar but more than a little strange.

His name was Kerebous. She called him Kero. He was the Guardian Beast of the Book of the Clow. She always thought that lofty title didn't quite suit him. Perhaps something smaller. Less grand. More clownish. Like him.

Kero had taken it upon himself the role of Sakura's instructor, guide, mentor, and all-around nudge in the realm of magic. She wasn't too sure about trusting him with that role either. To put it bluntly, she wouldn't trust him to guide her to the bathroom without getting lost.

In the last job that he was entrusted with, he happened to fall asleep for a few decades and lost most of the Clow Cards that he was suppose to be vigilantly protecting. Not exactly the most impressive testimonial to his competence.

Not that she intended to tell him any of that. It would hurt his feelings.

"You had another dream didn't you!" Kero exploded.

Sakura mutely nodded.

"Right!" Kero said fiercely, rubbing his chin with his hand and tried to look thoughtful. Sakura considered and decided once again not to mention that it made him look like he was constipated.

"Is it a new enemy?" Kero demanded.

"I…"

"Is it some new threat?" Kero snapped.

"I…"

"Is someone coming?" Kero pressed.

Sakura frowned. Her face screwed up in deep thought. "I don't remember," she admitted with a faint blush and pressing the tips of her index fingers together.

Kero face faulted.

* * *

"What did you say?" Schneider turned to look at Xellos. He and Pluto had been too busy exchanging insults to pay attention.

Xellos swiveled around to look at them as if surprised, "Oh … well … if you really must know," he paused, pursing his lips and paused, purely for dramatic effect Schneider was sure, "that's a secret!" he finished grinning as he waggled his finger.

"Fruitcake," Schneider growled, not believing the Trickster Priest for a second and wondering just what he had missed. Xellos rose to his feet and picked up his staff and twirled it around like a baton as he shuffled off after Urd. Schneider grimaced and hesitated briefly before he too got to his feet and followed Xellos while wondering just how had he gotten tricked into this crap.

Only Pluto remained behind at the table. She sniffed. "We should still kill her," she said softly.

* * *

**A/N: **This is an updated and slightly revised version of my original thread on _Anime Aadventures_ which I originally posted under the name of _Mike!_ Unfortunately I found out that this was already taken here on so I had to adopt a new one in case you were wondering.

This story was inspired by Neil Gaiman's _"The Books of Magic"_ which starred Timothy Hunter as the central character and introduced him to the worlds of magic and mystery of the DC Universe as the Phantom Stranger, Dr. Occult, Mr. E, and John Constantine all took him on a journey through the past, the present, the future, and several alternate worlds.

I was inspired to do this thing as a Mega Crossover, to try and tie together the various anime and manga series which involve magic and I decided to use Sakura Kinomoto who narrates her adventures in the realm of magic. I had originally planned for the Three Norns from Kosuke Fujishima's _Oh My Goddess!_ to be her guides but I decided that they were too nice and sisterly so eventually I came up with Sailor Pluto and Dark Schneider.

In the beginning I wasn't sure if I had the desire or the will to continue with the story which is why I originally built into the plot, this mysteriously Hooded Figure so another author could include someone from some other series but I found myself writing more and more bits and pieces of the series so I decided to continue with it after all. Several readers made several suggestions including Destiny from DC's Endless, James Potter or alternatively Harry Potter from J.K. Rowling's series (and if you don't know who he is, then you live in a cave somewhere), Crono from Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, and even Hikaru Gosunkugi from Ranma ½. But I felt that CrystalBlaze made the best suggestion of Xellos from _The Slayers! _as I wanted to keep this anime/manga focused which dropped the first three out of the running. Hikaru Gosunkugi didn't really strike me as a viable or competent candidate and I had absolutely no idea who Crono was or the series in question. I wasn't sure at first if he really fit but I grew to like his inclusion as he became a rather humorous foil.


	2. Remembering

**Updated 7/24/2009: **I combined a few of the other chapters together for this revised version.

* * *

**The Books of Magic**

Chapter 2:

_**Remembering**_

_**

* * *

**_

"HOOOOOE! I'm soooo late!" Sakura wailed as she dashed down the street.

Kero had kept harping about the new threat, about a new enemy or ally and about the importance of remembering her Dream all morning that she had missed not only her breakfast but leaving on time for school.

It was extremely frustrating but try as she might, she couldn't remember a thing about the Dream at all. _Well, except ... glowing eyes._

Slowly Sakura slowed her pace, coming to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk. She frowned thoughtfully as she gazed at the sky but her eyes were unfocused as her mind churned furiously. And she remembered. _He was gazing at her. No ... not eyes, not really. In place of eyes, there was a pair of glowing orbs. He ... yes, it was a he was just one of them. There was another one, no two more?_

"No ... there were four of them," she mumbled to herself.

"**I KNEW IT!"**

Sakura jerked whipping her head around at the totally unexpected cry. Then she felt her backpack wiggling and quickly removed it as a stuffed plushie stuck its oversized head out of her school bag.

"You remember now don't you!" Kero exclaimed eagerly

"KERO!" Sakura shouted in horror.

"Ahh ... that's better. No air at all in there," Kero remarked as he worked his way out of the bag and fanned himself with one stubby little arm. "You need to get a bigger bag, maybe one with decent ventilation..." he remarked as he flexed his cramped wings.

"You're suppose to stay at home!" Sakura reprimanded and tried cramming the overactive doll back into her bag.

"AAACCKK!" Kero gasped, "No, wait!"

Sakura muttered, "I don't have enough time to drop you off so you'll have to come with me today..." as she continued to squeeze the uncooperative little Guardian Beast into the confines of her school bag.

"Sakuraaaa! My neck doesn't bend that way!" Kero protested.

"How did you get in there anyways?" Sakura asked relenting for a brief moment to glance inside her normally full bag, "I didn't think there was any room."

"Oh there was enough after I ate your lunch," Kero explained helpfully.

"What?" Sakura shrieked. "My lunch?"

Kero straightened, puffing out his nonexistent chest and putting his hands on his similarly nonexistent hips and tried to look seriously stern. "Sakura!" he demanded, "What's more important? A new threat or your stomach!" he lectured pompously waggling an arm at her.

Sakura fantasized briefly of stuffing him into her bento box.

Kero folded his arms, "So do you remember your Dream now?" he demanded.

Sakura nodded, "Well ... some of it..."

Kero nodded, stroking his chin with a gleam in his eye, "Good, good. Now what do you remember about—"

"I'd like to hear about this Dream too," a new voice interrupted them.

Sakura turned and looked upward to see a man lying on a tree limb almost 20 feet off the ground. He was dressed head to toe in loose fitting clothing but apparently ruggedly made for traveling and even had on a cloak. A long staff topped with a red ruby crystal dangled casually from one gloved hand. His hair was strangely enough a dark purple. He grinned at both Sakura and Kero. "Please, go on, don't let me interrupt your fascinating conversation…" he remarked cheerfully as his eyes opened to reveal a pair of pale and perfectly normal purple pupils.

Sakura blinked. _He turned to stare directly at her. A pair of glowing orbs instead of eyes gazed balefully at her—_

Kero heard a soft choking noise from Sakura and whipped his head around to stare at her. She was shivering, her eyes wide and filled with fear. She took a trembling step and then whirled around to run away as fast as she could run. "SAKURA!" Kero called out and frantically flew after her.

* * *

On the tree branch, Xellos Metallium blinked in surprise and scratched his head as he watched the girl and her familiar race away.

"You scared her," a familiar voice remarked from above him.

Xellos glanced upward to see a tiny super-deformed Urd sitting on a small branch suitable for her smaller size and weight and peering down at him. He gestured towards himself in confusion, "I did?" he asked.

"Yes, you," Mini-Urd confirmed.

Xellos protested, "I didn't do anything."

Mini-Urd smirked slightly. "Oh, I doubt it was anything you did _per se_. More like that fact that you have this rather suspicious look about you. Particularly when you try to look innocent. Reminds me of Loki. Or an insurance salesman."

Xellos looked wounded. "Keeping an eye on me Urd-sama?" he asked politely.

Mini-Urd snorted, folding her stubby little arms across her chest and gave him a suspicious gaze. "Please. None of us trust each other. We're all on opposite sides after all Xellos. None of us even _**like**_ each other. Only the fact that we all have mutual interests in keeping the girl alive is the only reason why we're siding together after all … well except maybe Pluto. She just wants to keep an eye on _all_ of us without being too obvious."

Urd left it politely unstated that they all were quietly doing the same thing as Pluto.

Xellos smiled slyly, his eyes narrowed into slits as his purple pupils glittered demonically. "Indeed."

* * *

Sakura leaned with her back against a brick wall and gasped for breath. Kero looked at her concerned. "What was that about Sakura?" he asked, "Did you know him?"

She shook her head, "N—no. Not exactly. I—I _dreamed_ of him and—and these other three people with him—"

A slender arm encased in an elbow high glove reached out to clasp Sakura's shoulder. "We need to talk to you child…" a tall and attractive woman said as she stepped out of the shadows, she held a staff of her own except this one was crafted out of metal although it too was topped with red ruby gem. She was dressed in a sailor uniform. Her eyes were cold.

Surprised Sakura screamed in shock. Fear lent her strength as she twisted out of the woman's grasp and darted away.

Annoyed, Pluto watched the girl run away, the small plushie flying after her. She huffed and rolled her eyes. "Perfect. Like I don't have better things to do," she grumbled, as she shoved a long strand of her green hair out of her face and stalked away.

"Never should have agreed to this stupid thing." Pluto muttered to herself. Killing the girl was looking like a better and better option all the time.

* * *

She was pelting down the street, her hair whipping behind her as she ran. She heard Kerebous shouting her name but she didn't dare stop. She didn't dare slow down. They were right behind her! They were everywhere!

At the end of the block, an electronics store with dozens and dozens of television monitors displayed in the window blanked out with static for a second before clearing with a dark tanned woman with white hair and facial tattoos was looking out from each and every single one of them. "Sakura! Wait! Don't run! We're not going to hurt you—!" the woman shouted in stereo.

Sakura froze.

All of the televisions went to static except for the central and also the biggest one which flared with light and abruptly, the woman began working her way out of the screen, bending down and shifting her leg and then her hip through and wriggling her torso free out of the confines of the screen. Sakura gasped and turned and quickly darted down a side street.

Urd uttered a curse and squeezed herself all the way out. "Hey! Wait!" she yelled and began the chase after her. She took one step and immediately crashed headlong into the glass window. "Owch!"

Urd bent over and clutched her nose. "Darnit. Windo. Fergot 'bout dat," she mumbled, her speech slightly slurred as she eyed the treacherous pane of glass.

* * *

Sakura was faltering as she ran down the tiny street and was panting heavily. She had just exited it and back onto the open when a hand came out of nowhere and grabbed her!

"GOTCHA!" a loud masculine voice shouted triumphantly.

Sakura twisted around to stare helplessly at the hugely muscular man with silver hair leaning against the wall as though waiting for her. She let out a piercing shriek.

The man grimaced, "Oww," he complained and stuck a finger into his ear with his free hand. But he didn't let go. He glared at her. "Listen brat, I'm not going to hurt you—"

"LET HER GO!" a high pitched voice demanded.

They both looked upward to see Kerebous glaring at the man. The man seemed to smirk. "Or what?" he asked.

In response, Kero inhaled, inflating himself into a rotund looking ball.

"Kero…" Sakura whimpered.

Kero exhaled, releasing a stream of fire.

The man seemed to almost chuckle as he reached up with his free hand and grabbed the flame, capturing it. He then released his other hand on Sakura. "Like I was saying before, I'm not going to hurt you okay?" he said in a gentler tone of voice.

Kero goggled while Sakura slowly nodded, feeling slightly better that he had let go of her.

The man patted himself down with his other hand. "OK, fine. Relax, the others will be here in just a moment. Now where did I—ah!" he exclaimed jubilantly as he pulled a cigarette from some pocket in his clothing. He immediately stuck it into his mouth and brought up his still clenched fist and opened it.

A ball of orange-reddish flames hovered in the palm of his hand. He light the cigarette with it and with sharply waved his hand through the ball of fire, causing the flames to disperse and then fade away. His task done, he puffed for a moment and then exhaled a cloud of smoke. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Ah. They're here," he said.

Kero blinked. "Who are they—" he began and jerked startled as the other three popped into existence, surrounding them. "Oh," he said weakly.

The silver haired man smirked around his cigarette. "Well, hail hail. The gang's all here. Took you long enough."

The other three ignored his not so subtle jab and instead focused on Sakura. "Greetings Sakura Kinomoto," the white haired woman with the facial tattoos said solemnly.

Sakura hesitantly nodded. "H-hello," she said nervously. "Who are you guys anyways?" she asked.

All four nodded gravely. "Good question," the perpetually cheerful man with the purple hair said winking at her.

"Very good question," agreed the white haired woman beaming.

"What's so great about it?" muttered the shaggy white haired barbarian puffing his cigarette. The other three ignored him.

"We have many names child," the green haired woman said with a bit of nasty bite on the word 'child' as though she had run into something slimy and disgusting that needed to be cleaned at once. Sakura got the feeling that the woman didn't care too much for children. "I am called Pluto," the darkly tanned woman said softly.

"Pluto?" Sakura repeated, her nose wrinkling in confusion. "Like the planet?"

"Something like that," Pluto said evasively.

"Not much of a one though," the purple haired man remarked with a smirk, "I understand they're calling it a dwarf planet these days."

"It's a planet!" Pluto snarled at him, barring her teeth threateningly.

"A very, very small planet," he corrected holding up a hand with his thumb and forefinger a millimeter apart.

Pluto muttered something rude about astronomers.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at the brief interplay. "That's not your real name is it," she said, in a tone of voice that proclaimed it was not a question but more of a statement.

"Good instincts," the white haired woman said clapping her hands together and giving Sakura an approving nod, "Very good. That is something very important to remember Sakura. Names have power. It is a very wise thing to make sure that you never tell anyone your real name."

"But … you already know my name," Sakura said confused.

The white haired woman shook her head, "But not your _true_ name. _Sakura_ is the name your parents gave you. Your true name, your real name is the name of your spirit, the name for your very _**soul**_. For the most part, most people simply accept their birth names and never ever question it and eventually, that name _becomes_ them. It both weakens and diminishes them," she explained with a dismissive wave of her hand.

Sakura frowned. She wasn't sure if she quite understood what this woman was talking about. "So … then what is _your_ name?" she asked the white haired woman.

Pluto snorted. "Weren't you listening child? You never ask for someone's name. Whenever you meet someone, ask what they would like to be called."

"Errr … alright. What are you called then?" Sakura asked.

The white haired woman reached up and touched herself with the tips of her fingers. "I am known as Urd."

"You can call me Xellos," the smiling man with the purple hair and the staff said with a friendly wave.

Pluto muttered, "…and we call you _namagomi_."

Xellos' smile seemed to freeze for a moment as he glanced sidelong at Pluto but then his expression cleared and he returned to his normal, jovial appearance.

Sakura glanced at the last and final member of the quartet. "And who are you?" she asked.

The tall and powerfully built man reached up and pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and ground it out his palm with a hiss, "Men call me Dark Schneider."

_And what do women call you?_ Sakura wondered to herself but kept her comment to herself.

Schneider then shrugged, "If you want, you can call me D.S."

Kero settled down on top of Sakura's head. "So what do you people want with Sakura?" he asked looking at the four suspiciously. "If you want the Clow Cards, they belong to SAKURA now so…"

"We're not interested in her cards," Pluto snapped irritated. "If we wanted them, we could certainly take them. This is about her." Pluto said with a disdainful gesture at Sakura with the tip of her staff.

"She is the Heir to Clow Reed and appears to be destined to be a major force of magic in her own right," Xellos remarked. "We're … interested in making sure that she develops properly."

Urd continued as she gazed at Sakura, "You have discovered a realm of wonders and enchantments that the rest of the world has forgotten or struggles to ignore. We are here to educate. To instruct. To pass on our knowledge and wisdom to the next generation of magic. To you," she finished.

Xellos adopted a serious mien. "But there be warned here and now, child," he said softly although Sakura didn't mind the child from him as much as she did with Pluto. "Once you step onto this path, you will never be able to leave it. It will forever dominate your life. You stand on a threshold. A single step in any direction will forever change the course of your life. You haven't taken that first and final step. Yet. We're just going to show you what lies ahead if you do chose magic. A sneak peek so to speak."

D.S. snorted, "I'm just along for the ride kiddies. So are we going or what?" he asked impatiently.

* * *

**A/N: **For those of you wondering, the word _namagomi_ that Pluto calls Xellos is Japanese for _raw garbage_. Filia Ul Copt, a Golden Dragon and Priestess in the _Slayers Try!_ anime series often referred to Xellos by this, much to his annoyance. Oh and when I first wrote this story, Pluto was still considered a planet whereas now they're calling it a dwarf planet these days and when I was updating this chapter, I suddenly felt the need to poke some fun at that.


	3. The First Step

**The Books of Magic**

Chapter 3:

_**The First Step**_

_**

* * *

**_

"Going?" Sakura asked blankly as she looked at Dark Schneider. "Where are we going?" she asked confused as Kero hopped off her head and perched himself on her shoulder.

"A tour. Of sorts. A tour of magic. And we're your guides," Urd explained patiently. "That is…" and she paused significantly, "if that is your choice," she added quietly.

"Do you want to come with us Sakura?" Xellos asked cocking his head. "That is the choice before you. We will show you about the history of magic, of the powers and hierarchy that define it, of it's hidden worlds, of the hidden mysteries and crafters of today…" and he paused briefly and glanced sidewise at Pluto, "… and of the future of magic and where it is going and perhaps even your own role that you might play," he clapped his hands together and grinned. "Or not."

"Your life is defined by your choices. Choose. And choose wisely." Pluto snapped looking like she was busy and had a dozen other things she'd rather be doing.

Sakura looked down at her feet and scuffed the pavement. "I … I …" she stammered, "I'm afraid," she whispered.

"Of course you are." Schneider barked. "It's rational. Logical. Sensible. Everyone fears the unknown," he folded his muscular arms, "and well they should," he said, baring his teeth in a snarled challenge. "If you cannot take the first step, if you cannot find the courage to face your fear, then you best forget about magic altogether girl, because magic is not rational. It's illogical, insensible, impractical, impossible. It demands it," and he grinned wickedly and hissed, "_**Thrives**_ on it."

"I don't know about this Sakura," Kero hissed in her ear. "I don't trust them or their offer!"

"I wish Li was here." Sakura murmured thinking about Li Syaoran, the descendant of Clow Reed who was a formidable magician in his own right and had unfortunately returned to China.

"You don't need that kid! I'm here!" Kero announced proudly puffing out his nonexistent chest.

_I still wish Li was here,_ Sakura thought mentally even as she smiled at Kero, albeit weakly. "Do you think I shouldn't go with them Kero?" she asked seriously.

Kero hesitated. "It's your decision Sakura, I'll back you all the way," he proclaimed. "They say that they'll abide by your choice. And truthfully, I may have picked up some stuff over the years, but I'm no master or expert on magic either," the plushie said solemnly as he folded his stubby little arms across his chest, "If you want to know more about magic, even that brat Syaoran is more trustworthy than this bunch. But—" and now Kero hesitated and then plunged in, "—the Li Clan is an Eastern family with knowledge about Eastern style magic. Clow Reed used it, but he combined it with Western style magic into developing his own unique and much more powerful style. He created the Clow Cards with it. Eastern and Western magic never crafted anything like it before. Or since."

Kero fell silent for a long moment. Then he looked up, "They could give you some special insight or knowledge about magic that not even Syaoran could."

Kero pointed at her necklace. "You can use the Key. You can use the Cards," he pointed at her bookbag momentarily, "but casting a spell on your own?" and he shook his head in negation. "You don't know how and I can't help you there. I'm the Guardian of the Cards. That's it." and he swung his arm around to include the waiting Four, "They are sorceresses, magicians, mages, and whatever. They could teach you. And they're right too Sakura. It's your life, your future. You have to make a choice."

All those times, all of those adventures, she hadn't really wanted it, she had been forced into it by a nagging Kero, out of the guilt that _**she**_ was responsible and the thought of innocent people who might be hurt or injured or killed, she had threatened by Yue, been manipulated by Eriol. She had never really wanted it. And she had never really been given a choice before. _Now they were giving her a choice that would define her entire life? _It wasn't fair. It was too much. Too soon. She gulped. She looked downward towards her feet as if the answers to her questions were there.

_What did she want,_ she asked herself.

She wanted to be stronger. Stronger than she was. She wanted to be powerful. And wise. And … and she wanted magic.

"I … I want to see magic," she whispered and then her voice grew stronger, more determined, "I want to see it."

She looked up at the Four and said, "I've made my choice," she intoned, "I'll go with you."

Urd smiled and glanced at Xellos who nodded. Pluto turned away with a snort, fingering her staff absently. Sakura looked at the tall and brutal looking wild haired man who was standing stiffly apart from the rest of the group. Schneider looked down at her with a cold, almost disinterested expression on his face. Sakura swallowed nervously and felt like squirming but she didn't. Instead she held her ground and returned his gaze levelly. Slowly, a corner of his mouth turned upward for a second, softening his face before it returned to it's neutral impassivity.

"The question has been invoked," Urd said solemnly.

Sakura wondered if this was some sort ritual that they were performing.

"And the decision has been made," Xellos continued with an impish smile.

"Let the journey begin," Pluto muttered.

"And the doors be opened and the path revealed," Schneider growled.

Sakura cleared her throat tremulously wondering if she was allowed to speak, "Uh … where are we going?"

"The better question is _**when**_ are we're going," Urd explained with a wink to emphasis the when.

"It is?" Sakura asked, cocking her head slightly as she sought to interpret that last statement.

Urd grabbed Sakura by the arm and propelled her down the street, Kero slipped off her shoulder and quickly fluttered after them. Sakura helplessly found herself being dragged behind the white tressed woman who was looking up and down the street intently. "It's always best to begin at the beginning," Urd said striding down the street, "you can't understand what's going on if you just jump right in the middle of things or if you skip around and go to the very ending of a book," Urd glanced over her shoulder to gaze at Sakura, "You don't do you?" she asked intently.

"Uh … no."

"Exactly!" Urd said waggling her finger, "Sure, you can do that if you want to but it tends to spoil things. Follow me?"

"I think so. You mean there are no shortcuts or ways to get ahead." Sakura said slowly with a puckered brow.

"Really? That's what you got? I got you gotta start reading from the first page of a book," Kero remarked his wings fluttering as he flew beside her.

Urd nodded, "Yeah, me too. Where'd you get that stuff about shortcuts kid?"

Sakura bowed her head and sighed.

"Ah!" Urd exclaimed, apparently sighting her objective and proceeded to pull Sakura along with her and entered some sort of store. "What was I talking about again?" Urd asked herself and nodded, "Oh right, when we're going. Yesterday. The middle of last week. Five years ago."

Sakura blinked and took a quick glance at Urd confused again, "Huh?"

Urd gave her a knowing wink. "We're heading to the past Sakura. You're going to be stepping into the past itself. Think of it a little history lesson. About magic." she explained, clapping an arm around Sakura. They were standing in an electronics store with dozens of televisions on display. "Watch your step," Urd said and suddenly gave her a good forceful shove towards one of the video monitors.

Sakura gave a cry of surprise but instead of her forehead smacking into the glass, she continued to fall into the television screen itself. Her entire frame felt like it was being stretched out and squashed at the same time, her stomach felt like it was being twisted inside out as she continued to fall at tremendous speeds. She heard Urd's echoing shout, "because that first step can be a bit tricky!"

* * *

Keiichi Morisato rubbed his drooping eyelids as he parked his bike and with the long ease of practice, dismounted from the motorcycle. It had been one long week at work, finishing up several major repairs and rehaulings. He massaged a sour shoulder and winced. _Man that Chihiro! She was a slave driver!_

He yawned as he shuffled down the hallway of the converted temple/asylum as he liked to think of it. He glanced out into the open courtyard and noticed that apparently he wasn't the only one who had been working. Belldandy and Skuld were busy at work as well.

About three steps later he stopped dead in his tracks.

Suddenly wide awake, he quickly reversed course and took another look.

Belldandy. Skuld. Working.

He looked down and noticed a huge magic circle that encompassed the entire courtyard. Strange runes and exotic hieroglyphic patterns and complex shapes formed the borders of the magic circle. _Oh Goddess._ They were going to do some weird magical conjuring. Again. Suddenly he wasn't at all tired. Not a bit. Not the slightest. He should go back to work. Like right now.

Suddenly there was a loud thrumming sound and with a flash, the television screen began radiating a cone of light.

Keiichi grimaced. Too late.


	4. Time Enough for Tea

**The Books of Magic**

**Chapter 4: **_Time Enough for Tea_

_

* * *

_

Keiichi Morisato watched silently as his girlfriend served tea and snacks to what appeared to be nothing more than a laughing eleven year old girl and a giggling Skuld. Urd was busy on the phone conversing with the Almighty. Belldandy smiled and got up, taking the empty serving tray and left. Keiichi quickly moved to intercept as she exited the room.

"So what is she?" he demanded bluntly.

Belldandy looked bemused. "Excuse me?"

"What is she? I don't see any Goddess or Demon Markings. Some sort of Spirit? A Ghost? An Astral Projection?" Keiichi pressed.

Belldandy smiled, "She's an eleven year old girl Keiichi."

"Hah!" Keiichi scoffed. He looked at her with narrowed eyes, "She came with Urd through the TV set. And there's that … _**thing **_with her. Yeah, toys have gotten a lot more sophisticated and stuff but I haven't seen one yet that eats and drinks food … like that thing does," he jerked an accusing thumb at Kero whose head had quadrupled in size and now resembled a wedge as he swallowed a slab of cake. Keiichi watched as Kero chewed a few times and swallowed and accordingly his head shrank back to it's normal size. He turned to gaze accusingly at Bell, "Don't tell me she's _**just **_a normal eleven year old girl."

"I said she was a eleven year old girl," Bell admitted, "I never said a thing about her being normal."

* * *

"She's safe. So far. I don't think we were followed Father," Urd reported over the phone.

There was a pause and then Kami-Sama replied, "**Very Good. Fail Not In This Charge Daughter."**

Urd gulped and bowed her head in acknowledgment. "I will try."

"**Do Better Than That,"** Kami-sama said sternly and then his voice softened, **"There Are Forces In Motion Here. The Future Is … Uncertain. Be Wary Daughter. Danger Is Afoot. Do Not Tarry Here."**

**

* * *

**

"Why Xellos?" Pluto hissed with narrowed suspicious eyes.

"That's a rather large question there Puu-chan," the purpled haired priest drawled, a finger tapping thoughtfully on his cheek.

"I am speaking about the Child!" Pluto snapped, "Why are you so eager to aid her?" she demanded.

Xellos looked hurt. "You don't believe that it's nothing more than a charitable desire to aid a person in need?"

"Hardly Mazoku. Your kind never does anything without having something to gain. You recruited Urd, manipulated Schneider, and even pushed me into accepting this foolish task!" Pluto growled. "Why? Why her? Let her stand or fall! Find or lose her way on her own!"

Xellos' cheerful mien turned serious and he opened his eyes to gaze levelly at Pluto. "Do you really want to know Guardian?" he asked in a sober and utterly formal tone of voice.

Pluto's annoyed expression cleared, "Of course."

"I will pass on this information to you only because I trust you will understand the gravity and seriousness of this and you will not disclose it," Xellos said solemnly.

Pluto gravely nodded.

"Very well," Xellos said. He glanced over his shoulder as if suddenly nervous of potential eavesdroppers. He leaned forward, closer to Pluto and beckoned her with one hand even as he cupped the other close to his mouth protectively to prevent the sound from travelling. Despite herself she leaned towards Xellos as well.

Pluto perked her ear as Xellos whispered, "That's a secret."

* * *

Schneider took a swallow of wine and made a face, "Tastes like horse piss."

If he had known that Urd was going to leave and take all of the good stuff with her, he would have made sure to have liberated a few bottles for himself. Not only that but she had stuck him with the Bitch-With-The-Staff-Up-Her-Ass and the Fruity Loon but he was completely sober to boot.

He sighed and then took another swallow.

Maybe if he was lucky, he could get drunk before the brat and Urd came back and—**KLANG!**

Schneider's head snapped up and his arm was already weaving a series of mystic symbols when Pluto came stalking down the alleyway muttering. He lowered his arm and then reconsidered his decision after he got a good look at her as she brushed past him muttering something about namagomi.

Schneider pursed his lips thoughtfully and finally shrugged. A little further on, he saw a pair of legs sticking out of the wall. Xellos apparently had gotten on Pluto's bad side. Again.

He briefly considered freeing the Mazoku but wondered why should he bother anyways. It was not as though Pluto could really hurt Xellos.

_Pity too,_ Schneider thought to himself as Xellos' arms extracted themselves from the hole and felt around to find the edges and pull his body free.

Xellos was a foot shorter now, his upper body was compacted almost accordion-like as he tottered backwards on his legs. He grabbed his head with both hands and pulled it upwards, stretching his body back to it's original height. He grinned once he was finished and dusted himself off. "Puu-chan has no sense of humor," he confided to Schneider.

Xellos tilted his head back and forth, "Hey, I think she got rid of a crink in my neck!"

"Fruitcake," Schneider muttered and took another swallow of wine as he wondered again how he had been tricked into doing this and how much more wine he was going to need before this was all over.

* * *

"Do you believe in magic Keiichi?" Belldandy asked intently after ushering him into the kitchen for more privacy.

Keiichi goggled at her as though she had lost her mind, "Magic? You mean … like the Tooth Fairy or the Great Pumpkin…"

"Or like Goddesses?" Belldandy smiled faintly.

"I er … when I was a kid, I guess, maybe, I suppose. Sometimes I did wish that there was magic," Keiichi scratched his head, "I don't know. I mean, I can accept that you and your sisters are Goddesses and there are even Demonesses like Mara or Hild wandering around. Although Goddess know, thinking about that makes me queasy … I mean I've seen Spirits and Ghosts and a lot of weird things ever since I called the Goddess Hotline," and a bit of a fond smile touched his features in remembrance of their first meeting, "but as far as I can tell, these spells or whatever that you guys cast are simply you manipulating various physical and natural laws in some bizarre fashion. Even Urd's potions are super advanced chemistry or something. Those runes or glyphs or whatever you guys got scrawled outside in that magic circle are just some sort of hyper-calculus or eighth-dimensional quantum mathematics as far as I understood Skuld's explanation one time. I can handle that. I can sort of understand that."

"Yes, that is correct Keiichi," Belldandy looked pleased, "It is our Power to control the very fabric of the Universe itself. We are inextricably part of the Universe and while Magic is a fundamental force, it is a force that we lack power over. Magic is a force that mortals wield and shape," Bell took a breath. "Which brings us to Sakura Kinomoto."

"Sakura is potentially the most powerful sorceress of all time. That is _if _she desires it, _if_ she studies and dedicates herself and her life to it … she could wield tremendous power. She could be a source of great _good_ … or perhaps of great _evil_. Under normal circumstances, we would not interfere. Humanity must choose it's path. Sakura would have to make her own choices, her own mistakes, and learn from them, to walk the path on her own."

"Normally?" Keiichi asked curious.

Belldandy looked pensive. "There are … Dark Forces in motion here Keiichi. They know of Sakura. Of her existence. Of her potential. They would desire for her to follow their path and use her powers for their goals. Which is why Urd is ostensibly guiding her while at the same time giving her a measure of protection."

"_**Urd **_is protecting her?" Keiichi demanded, his voice rising a few notches at that revelation. He was just barely able to bite his tongue and blurting out an expression of horror. _Urd? Our Urd? That Urd? Urd, the irresponsible, inattentive, careless reckless Urd?_

Suddenly Keiichi was aware of a faint click of the phone receiver and the creaking of the floorboards as Urd slid open the door and poked her head into the kitchen. "Hey Bell," she began and then noticed Keiichi's presence and nodded a brief acknowledgment, "Is it ready?" she asked.

Belldandy gave a brief nod, "Yes. Skuld and I have been working on it all day. The Gate is set and properly attuned. We have twelve minutes before the astrological bodies are correctly aligned."

Urd clapped her hands together nervously, "Great. I'll go get Skuld and the kid. We need to get moving. Fast."

"Trouble?" Belldandy asked, her normally cheerful expression clouding over.

Urd hesitated, clearly debating whether or not to say anything before relenting, "According to Father, the Opposition is on the move," she reported.

"I see. You're correct then, you should get moving," Belldandy said solemnly.

Urd quickly departed.

Belldandy began untying her apron and hanging it up on a hook. Keiichi waited a beat before blurting out, "What was that about? Is it those … _Dark Forces_, you were talking about? So what if they're moving?"

"It means that there is a good chance that they have decided that Sakura is too dangerous to live." Belldandy said flatly.

Keiichi felt a chill run up his spine at the finality of Belldandy's last words and his face twisted in disgust, "What are you saying? That they'd ... they'd _**kill**_ her if she doesn't join them?"

"Yes."

"But she's just a child!" Keiichi protested feebly.

"Yes. So she is. But she is also much more," Bell said sadly before adding in a soft voice, "That is her destiny … or her curse."

* * *

"Remember, do not leave the Circle," Belldandy repeated, "until Urd tell you to."

"I remember," Sakura said softly.

Belldandy smiled and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "Don't worry. Nothing can harm you. At least, not in the past. What you will see are nothing but shadowy images of times long gone by. They will be phantoms of thought, wraiths of vapor, and ghosts long departed."

"The past is boring!" Skuld cut in, "Now the future is really neat!" she said brightly, "I am the Goddess of the Future you know so I should know!" she said with an arrogant tilt to her head at Urd who merely grunted and continued scribbling some additional glyphs in chalk to the magic circles.

"Yeah, yeah," Urd muttered.

Skuld stuck her tongue out at her eldest sister and at Belldandy's gentle pressure, flounced off to one of the magic circles even as Belldandy took her own position. Urd gave the glyphs and runes and everyone else's position a final check. She took a deep breath and looked upward. "Get ready. The stars and the planets are going to be alignment in three minutes."

"Banpei is keeping lookout," Keiichi reported as he hunkered down well outside the circles. The last thing that they needed was for someone unexpected to pop in and disrupt things. Keiichi adjusted the upside down cooking pot turned impromptu helmet on his head and hefted the metal carpenter's level like it was a club, clearly wishing he could join the loyal guard robot far far away from here.

"Gee, if anyone does show up, you better hope they're really unbalanced Keiichi," Urd drawled.

Keiichi bristled and smacked the level in his hand to show it's solidity and weight. "I couldn't find my baseball bat OK?" he said defensively.

"You better not break my level Keiichi!" Skuld threatened, "If you do, you're buying me a new one!"

"Yeah, yeah," Keiichi muttered and consulted his watch. Two minutes. He managed to resist the urge to glance again at it for almost another minute before he started staring at it as the seconds began ticking down.

Thirty seconds.

Twenty.

Ten.

Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

Urd's arms suddenly snapped out to maximum extension and before Keiichi's eyes as the entire engraved runes and circles began pouring out intense white light. Urd's entire body began to glow as she began chanting. It was words that he didn't recognize, words that he suspected were far older than Latin and he saw that both Belldandy and Skuld were both chanting as well, each of them radiating their own light as well.

"In the name of the Norns of the Past, Present, and Future! I call unto thee! Hearken to me!" Urd suddenly spoke in Japanese in a voice that caused the ground to shake and the wind to howl.

Lightning sparked and arced and thunder roared as a huge storm appeared right above the temple itself.

"In the names of the Norns of the Past, Present, and Future! I summon thee! I command thee!" Urd shouted as her arms wove patterns of light in the air. Glowing glyphs and runes and mathematical symbols spun and danced in the air in strange patterns.

"Show us the path we must travel! Illuminate our passage! Reveal yourself to us!" Urd snapped her head upward, beseeching, "In the name of the Norns of the Past, Present, and Future! Unlock the Gate!"

Then as suddenly as it all began, the wind died down, the lightning sputtered and fizzled out, even the storm clouds vanished leaving behind clear skies. Keiichi raised the iron pot serving double duty as his makeshift helmet cautiously. Then he heard a strange buzzing sound and he glanced at his watch and frowned as he suddenly noticed that it was frozen. The digital display was stuck. He tapped it curiously as the buzzing sound began louder and the air split apart and what appeared to be a black hole appeared. Keiichi tried to look at it but his mind veered away as though his eyes didn't want to focus on it. It didn't seem to make any sort of sense when he looked at it. Light seemed to be sucked into it, as well as all warmth and bizarrely enough, even color itself seem to fade or become washed out near it.

Urd gestured, "Take my arm Sakura," she said firmly. Sakura gripped the crook of Urd's arm protectively as Urd gestured towards the doorway composed of inky darkness, "The Past awaits."

Sakura gulped convulsively. She bit her lip and ducked her head down and gazed at her feet. She shuffled them awkwardly. "I'm scared. Really scared," she whispered.

"I know," Urd said softly. There was a long moment of silence. "Do you want to go on?" she asked gently.

"Sakura … everything will be alright," Kero added helpfully in her ear. Sakura smiled at the small plushie and reached up and stroked his head. "Thanks Kero," she whispered, her eyes closed and repeated her mantra. She looked up at the white haired Goddess and her eyes clear. "I'm ready."

They both took a step forward. And then another. Then they passed through the threshold of the portal and promptly vanished.

* * *

**A/N:** OK before anyone jumps on me, as far as I seen Belldandy's magic has always seemed to be more scientifically based than most fantasy magic spells. That is I have always seemed to grasp that her "magic" is like I stated in the episode; a form of manipulating or altering the basic physical properties or laws of the universe. If you like you can consider Belldandy and the other Goddesses' magic as a different style or system of spellcasting than regular mortals. Sort of like Divine Magic or something like that. It is ineffective for the most part on mortals and vice versa. Whatever.

I wanted to try and frame that basically what Urd and Belldandy and Skuld do is very different from what other spellcasters do.


	5. Magical History 101

**The Books of Magic**

Chapter 5: _Magical History 101_

_

* * *

_

It was cold was the first thing that Sakura noticed.

They seemed to be standing in midair and totally surrounded by darkness. Sakura blinked several times and tried to squeeze herself tighter for some warmth but to no avail.

She dimly remembered some school kids had once locked her in a closet to frighten her a few years ago. This sort of reminded her of this. The darkness of the closet. The stillness of the air. No light. Unable to see. She had been trapped in pitch blackness for several minutes before Tomoyo rescued her. It was a rather frightening moment for her to remember.

This was worse.

It was much worse.

She could hear sounds from outside of the door back then. Soft and muffled but she could still hear them. She could feel the pressure of her feet on the floor. Feel the rough surface of the wood door. Even see the dim outline of the door as light forced it's way through the cracks.

Not now.

There was nothing. No light. No sound. She felt weightless as although gravity had cut her adrift. She waved her arms and legs.

"Wh—where are we?" she finally asked, somewhat startled at how her voice reverberated in the great darkness.

"I suppose you might call this place the Void," Urd said from nearby although Sakura couldn't tell for sure. Urd's voice simply echoed through the darkness. "It is the Dark Abyss, the Eternal Silence, this is the Space Before Time and Thought and Motion. This is the Emptiness, the Forever Twilight, the Nothingness from whence All Began and All Became."

Sakura tried to wrap her mind around that concept. _We're at the beginning of the universe?_

"Before then," Urd interrupted. "There is no Universe. No Earth. No Solar System. No Sun. This is before Time itself, before there was any when to travel to, much less any where."

"No chance of finding a restroom here huh?" Kero inquired as he shifted position on Sakura's shoulder, apparently looking around. "This place is sort of a fixer-upper."

"The ultimate fixer-upper," Urd remarked. Sakura could actually hear the slightly amused upward grin that came with that statement. Then Urd's voice turned serious and she commanded, "Wait for it."

"Wait for what?" Sakura asked but even as she asked the question, she felt a faint quiver in the deadness of the emptiness. It was like a rush of wind. A stirring. It ruffled through her hair and caused the tiny ones on the back of her hand to stand up.

Then there was another one. Sharper. Harder.

"What is—" Kero asked a split second before Sakura clapped her hands over her ears and bent over in shock. The entire Void trembled and shook in pain—the scream howled and bellowed across the dusty centuries. Sakura clutched her head, squeezing it hard as though she was trying to squeeze out the pain. Her entire body felt like it was on fire.

"Labor pains," Urd explained calmly, "Birth is always an arduous and painful process."

Then as suddenly and abruptly as the pain had started, it stopped. Sakura shakily looked up, "I felt…"

"Your pain is only the tiniest fraction of the pain that brought forth Existence itself," Urd proclaimed and suddenly Sakura realized that she could see the Goddess floating nearby in the Void. But where was the light coming from—Urd waved her arm outward and commanded, "Look."

Sakura looked upward and there—! She saw it. A tiny pinprick of light that had ignited. It glowed in the Void for a barest of moments before it mushroomed outward, a roiling wave of energy that erupted, spiraling forth. Sakura was so startled that she didn't even have time to scream as the flash of energy enveloped her. She arced her back as she felt warmth flood her entire body as heat began. She saw the flash of light as bursts of color flared.

"This is the Beginning. The First Dawn," Urd clarified. "What you know as Time began here. What you know as Reality was first cast into Existence with what you call Energy. With it came Light and Heat. And Magic."

"Wow. That was like … totally awesome," Sakura whispered awestruck.

"One thing about magic kiddo, you don't need any special effects, Urd said with a grin.

"Too bad we didn't bring any popcorn," Kero muttered. "Hey do you think we could stop somewhere and get something to eat?" Kero asked curiously.

Urd snorted, "Nope."

Kero tsked. "Guess there's no chance for a bathroom break either then huh?"

* * *

"Where are we going now?" Sakura asked as she eyed the raw energy roiling around, surrounding them warily. Energy was rippling, seething.

"Just watch," Urd urged. "What you are seeing is the Universe itself forming in the aftermath of what your modern day scientists call the Big Bang. As the Universality expands, it creates Space. As the Energy begins to cool and condense, Matter is created and with it, Gravity starts to shape and define it," Urd reached out to cup a handful of energy, showing it to Sakura. Sakura watches fascinated. The energy was already beginning to dim and become less agitated.

Urd gestured to encompass the cosmos, "And ultimately Life itself was born."

Sakura peers around curiously, hoping to catch a glimpse.

Urd smiles. "Try further back," she suggested.

Sakura swivels around, looking.

"Perhaps you need a slightly different perspective…" Urd suggests and snaps her fingers and they are soaring through the glowing stars, the galaxies that are beginning to take shape. Then, they are standing beyond the edge of the Universe. "Look back," Urd commands.

Sakura looks and gasps. The Universe … they seemed to make up the very fabric of the Universe itself. Their bodies were the very stuff of space themselves, their skin was fabric of glowing stars and forming planets and comets and more. It was as if their very bodies were the stuff of the Universe, as if the Universe were a part of them.

Urd explained, "They are the Choushin."

"Chosen?" Sakura asked.

"Choushin," Urd corrected. "They are the ones who came before. You might say that they are the Cosmos itself."

Now that Sakura was looking at them, she could see that their hazy forms solidifying, becoming defined. There was three of them.

Urd pointed to each in turn, "They are known as Tsunami, Washu, and Tokimi. The Choushin."

Sakura turned to look at Urd, "Ummm … are they … God?" she whispered.

Urd pursed her lips, "It all depends on your point of view Sakura. They were birthed out of Creation, but they did not have a part of making it. They are Beings of a much higher dimensional existence than even me. They are the Eldest beings in all of Reality, the First Ones. Many refer to them as the Trinity. They are as far above us as you are over a speck of dust."

"Hope they don't have a feather duster handy then," Kero muttered sarcastically even though Sakura and Urd quietly agreed with him.

* * *

"Time to get moving again Sakura. History's waiting," Urd nudged Sakura's shoulder and beckoned her. They began walking once more. "Things are still settling so to speak the Universe is still very young at this point. A mere babe, if you will," Urd explained waving her hand around and then grimaced and pointed, "Here."

"Don't look Sakura!" Kero barked out.

Like every single person told that, Sakura immediately looked. She recoiled at the sight. They were hideous creatures, horrible monsters, fiends, beasts and other bizarre chimeras.

"I suppose you might consider them Precursors to my kind. Distant kin and all that. These are the Great Old Ones. Primordial Beasts and Forces of Nature, Lords of Chaos and Destruction, and Ruinous Destroyers."

Urd paused for a moment before continuing, "You might call them Demons."

Sakura swallowed and turned away, unable to bear looking at them.

"Their Names are still remembered and feared even though their Time has Long Past. Ogdru Jahad. Cthulhu. X'chll'at-aa. The Lord of Nightmares. And more. They existed and ruled over the Universe. But their time ended and they were forced to move on. Although a few still linger," Urd warned. "and humans still remember them. Dimly. It's called racial memory. These days, a courageous few of my own kinfolk try to emulate them but in truth, they are nothing but pale imitations of the real thing," and here Urd shivered and whispered, "even Hild."

Kero perked up, curious about what was it about that person who triggered such a reaction in the seemingly boundlessly confident Goddess but something in Urd's expression forbade him from inquiring.

There was a long moment before Urd shook off her mood, "I am sorry for showing you those …" Urd searched for an appropriate word, _**"things,"**_ she finally selected, "…but I would be remiss if I didn't."

They were silent for a long time as they continued to walk through the sea of stars. "No one is quite sure why the Great Old Ones left. And no one is quite willing to try and find one of them to ask," Urd added with a slight smile before continuing, "Some believe that they sought new, more plentiful fields to conquer. Others claim that they might have grown bored with our Universe.

"And so it would come to pass that the last of these Great Old Ones would be forced out in the Final Hour of the Long Night when a new race emerged. One of them sought to end the Chaos and bring Order into the Universe. He met the Chousin Tsunami and begged her aid. She gave him a Seed that he nurtured and grew into a sapling which became a tree that was called Yggdrasil the World Tree and he became known as Kami-Sama, my Father."

Sakura watched silently as the events unfolded. She blinked as she saw Yggdrasil, she swore she saw it composed of streaming lines of zeroes and ones when she tilted her head slightly.

"Yggdrasil helped Kami-Sama tame the wild forces and chain the raw elements. It is the Ultimate Program and the Ultimate Computer. It runs billions upon billions of calculations simultaneously and keeps the entire Universality running smoothly. With it, Kami-Sama gave Order and Law and Reason and Balance to the Universe."

Kero abruptly leaned forward, studying the mammoth tree intently. "Wow!" he exclaimed rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Sakura nodded, amazed as well. _The big tree was some sort of bio-organic computer!_

"Just imagine how many games I could play with that!" Kero proclaimed excitedly.

Sakura face faulted.

* * *

Urd gestured, "Let us turn our attention here. A solar system is forming here. One of particular importance."

Sakura turned and saw the pocket of gas igniting and a brilliant star blossoming into being. Urd bent closer to Sakura to casually add, "You just witnessed the Birth of your Homeworld's Sun."

Sakura clapped her hands together, "That was so cool!"

"That must be Earth huh?" Kero inquired as the planetoid forming some distance away.

"No. Sol is still several millions of years away from even condensing at this point of time," Urd clarified.

Sakura looked confused at Urd, "But I thought you said that was the Sun!"

"True. But I only said this was Humanity's Homeworld where your species were born and evolved."

Sakura's brow puckered even further. "Wait, I remember from school about how Mankind evolved on Earth and—"

Urd smirked. "Ooohh. You mean they kept records about that did they? Video recordings, notarized texts and all that?"

Sakura opened her mouth to reply and then stopped. She tapped her fingers together and thought about it. "Er … well …"

Urd took pity on her and enlightened Sakura. "Humankind has forgotten it's True Past. It's History. They still do remember dimly the Truth. But it's all obscured by folktales and myths and legends. Or considered religion in some cases."

Urd broke off and leaned closer to Sakura to hint, "But every myth has a grain to truth to it. Every folktale and legend was based on fact."

Sakura turned to examine the now blue-white globe.

"The First World has been called many names in many languages. But I think you would probably best recognize as Eden."

"Wow, so basically humans are really aliens," Kero remarked scratching his head, "That's really freaky."

Urd shrugged, "Well more like colonists if you will. But I'm getting ahead of the past."

* * *

Sakura blinked, surprised at the sudden change. They were standing in a dark cave, flickering torches were the sole source of illumination. The air was filled with smoke and loud chanting. A man was standing beside a cavern wall, he was dirty and dressed in animal skins. In one hand, he held a bowl of some liquid and began painting crude figures on the canvas of the wall as he chanted. Sakura felt her skin prickling at the sensation and knew she was in the presence of magic, very old magic.

* * *

Stone rose before her eyes. Cut with ropes and bones. Monuments were raised with sweat and labor. There rituals and sacrifices were practiced and carried out. Magic.

* * *

The woman was adorned with paints on her face and her bare body and she bellowed a word and threw a handful of powder into the fire and it exploded. Spirits rose and howled as she gestured with a staff and shook it. Forcing them to obey her commands. Magic.

* * *

They were in the midst of a battlefield. Men wielded swords and knives, crossbows and axes, but at the rear, a group of men and women in robes stood, chanting and gesturing and lightning and flames and beasts of all kinds came, devastating their foes. But the other side had magicians too and they countered with shields of stone, torrents of water, and their own beasts. And it was all magic too.

* * *

The cities rose of wood, of stone, of metal, of crystal. Designed by man. Crafted by magic.

* * *

It was all too much, too fast. "Stop it!" Sakura screamed, closing her eyes. Urd made a gesture and the rapid-fire slideshow of imagery slowed and came to a halt. "Sorry about that Sakura," Urd apologized. "You were lost in history, you were seeing too much, too fast," she mused, "You must have a talent for Scrying."

Sakura panted, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm—I'm alright now, I think."

"Good. Because we have more to see," Urd said softly. And there was a flare of brilliant white light.

"What's that?" Kero demanded.

Urd turned to look at the scene and made a grimace of disgust. "War."

* * *

"Mankind has learned to harness Magic in many ways. They are it's Masters," Urd intoned solemnly, "Or so they think.

"They have used Magic to build great structures, to enrich their lives, and to take lives as well."

Sakura shuddered as she saw gigantic objects, machines powered by magic floating in the air, unleashing brilliant white bolts of light. Men flew on huge dragons who breathed fire, lightning, and other destructive blasts at these machines. Then darkness fell and Sakura turned and gasped at the huge orb hovering above them.

"It's the Death Star!" Kero shouted.

Urd shook her head, "They call it the Eye of God. It is a Doomsday Weapon designed to be a Destroyer of Worlds. But it is not the sole one capable of such a feat."

A gigantic spinning discus came and crashed into the Eye, knocking it off course. The discus began to slow and then a pair of tree-trunk like legs emerged followed by a pair of similarly large arms and finally a blunt-muzzle with an impressive pair of tusks from it's lower jaw. Sakura gaped at the sight even as she heard Kero mutter, "Looks like a turtle on steroids."

"That is Gamera."

The turtle shrieked and a gigantic mass of flames vomited forth from it's maw to impact upon the Eye of God. Other orbiting installations came, unleashing blazing blasts that struck the gigantic monster who shrieked in pain as he sought to destroy his attackers. Even as he did, the dragonriders came flying to assist.

"This was the Fall of Eden," Urd uttered coldly as dragons were knocked out of the sky even as machines were blown apart, "As Man built both Machine and Beast to fight for himself in their Great War. And as their conflict shook the planet and brought it to the brink of self-annihilation, many fled for their lives and safety," she said and Sakura saw dozens of ships, some large, some tiny and many in-between departing for the safety of space even as she saw huge lines of refugees departing through gigantic portals.

"Who won?" Sakura asked quietly.

"Neither," Urd said shaking her head sadly. "They had so devastated themselves that neither side could truly claim victory. Those who remained behind soon perished themselves."

"That's so sad…" Sakura said.

"War often is," Urd agreed, "but humanity itself did not die out. Some sought sanctuary in the Other Realms. Others across the Void of Stars including a distant planet many light-years away called Earth…"

* * *

**A/N: **Disclaimer time! The Choushin (Tsunami, Washu, and Tokimi) are the property of Masaki Kajishima and Hiroki Hayashi and were derived from _Tenchi Muyo!_

The Ogdru Jahad is by Mike Mignola's _Hellboy, _Cthulhu and X'chll'at-aa are actually not by any anime or manga series but by a series of horror stories written by H.P. Lovecraft. Both of these are not part of the anime/magna universes but I felt they fit into the concept that I was trying to include about the Primordial Beasts and Monsters that used to reign over the Universe. The Lord of Nightmares on the other hand is part of Hajime Kanzaka's _Slayers!_

This version of Yggdrasil, Kami-Sama, and Hild were all derived from Kōsuke Fujishima for _Oh My Goddess! _which incidentally is the same series that Urd comes from.

The Eye of God was taken from _El-Hazard: The Magnificent World_ by Hiroki Hayashi and Ryoe Tsukimura and the great Gamera is owned by Daiei Motion Picture Company.

It should be noted that this is my own telling of how things began, not based on any official one from any of these fine series or authors. Nor is it my intention to insult or belittle any person's religious beliefs or promote any religion over another. This story is purely for entertainment purposes. I'm just trying to mesh various different series in a cohesive whole and connect things in order to provide a common framework from which to work from.

**1/7/2010 Correction:** Thanks to Tsukino Kage Spectre for pointing out that I was calling Tsunami as Tsunade. Whoops! I must have had Naruto on the brain when I was writing those parts and I totally missed it in my proofreading! Glad that someone is actually reading my stuff and pays attention to little errors like that!


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